Emily Armstrong’s journey from the crowded heart of Los Angeles’ music scene to the national stage hasn’t followed a straight line – and that’s exactly how she likes it. Born in LA in 1986, she cut her teeth playing the city’s dive bars and open mics, carrying around more determination than dollars, and drawing in audiences with her arresting, gritty vocals. Her singing – sometimes as raw as it is beautiful – tends to bypass polish in favor of honesty. “I never wanted to be perfect,” Armstrong admitted in an early interview with a local music blog in 2013. “I wanted people to hear the cracks in my voice because that’s where the real feeling lives.”
Behind the scenes, Armstrong is known for approaching her craft with almost obsessive care. Friends will tell you she’s never without a battered notebook ready to catch a lyric or melody whenever inspiration strikes – sometimes during late-night bus rides, other times in a quiet corner before a show. It’s this habit that gives her songs a lived-in feel, shaped by her own missteps and victories rather than some committee in a studio. Fans connect with her music not because it’s flawless, but because it’s unmistakably hers.
Armstrong’s personal life, on the other hand, is a different story. While she’s quick to lay her heart bare in her music, she’s made a conscious effort to keep romantic relationships out of the spotlight. At the start of her career, she would sidestep personal questions completely – no red carpet hand-holding, no Instagram announcements. As her star rose, though, a few relationships inevitably made their way into the public’s imagination.
For the last year, she’s been dating Chris Taylor. They keep things refreshingly low-key – an occasional snapshot at a neighborhood café, maybe a quick shoutout in an interview – but otherwise, they guard their time together. “We try not to put on a show for anyone,” Armstrong has said to friends. Their relationship seems to offer the balance she’s sought, especially in an industry hungry for oversharing.
In the past, though, some of Armstrong’s romances have been more visible. In 2016, she dated model Kate Harrison after meeting backstage at a charity concert. The two bonded over vintage records and spent a summer hopping between festivals before quietly going their separate ways. There were also recurring rumors about a romance with fellow musician Jordan Miller, fueled by their collaborative tracks and easy chemistry in interviews, though neither ever confirmed anything beyond a strong friendship.
As Armstrong’s fame has grown, so too has her sense of what she’s willing to share. In one of her few open conversations about relationships, during a 2018 interview, she reflected: “Love gets complicated when other people think they’re entitled to opinions about it. I’ve learned to close my ears to that noise.”
Armstrong hasn’t shied away from using her personal life as inspiration, but she draws the line at naming names or providing fuel for gossip columns. Some of her most moving songs touch on heartbreak and hope in ways that hint at her own experiences, but she trusts her audience to fill in the blanks. “I want the music to speak for itself,” she’s said more than once – a simple philosophy, but one that’s increasingly rare.
Past Relationships
Kate Harrison
These days, whether she’s onstage playing an anthem to a packed room or off the grid with Taylor, Armstrong moves with a kind of quiet conviction. She’s spent years figuring out how to tune out the industry’s noise, and her fans appreciate her for it. If anything, it seems she’s finally landed in a place that feels like home: honest in her art, steady in her relationships, and unapologetically herself.